Category: Top Dog

My 11 month old miniature dachshund has become a barking machine. I understand it is the breed, but it is constant. It is not barking due to a trigger or discomfort, it is demand barking/barking for attention. If he does not have direct attention or a Kong he is barking. It has been increasing the last few months and has become nearly intolerable the last 2 weeks.

We walk for 45 min in the morning then do a short training session when we get home, then the barking begins. We continue short walks and training sessions throughout the day, however, the barking persists.

The crate used to be our safe haven – he would immediately settle in the crate and go to sleep. However, the last two weeks he has started barking in the crate. There has been no change to environment or routine.

We just completed our second puppy training course, this time around focusing on the barking, and after 8 weeks the barking has only gotten worse.

We have tried redirecting with a command – he barks for my attention, I tell him to sit or down, he stops barking for that moment, then starts barking again. Repeat. We have tried ignoring the barking. After a few minutes of barking in your face he will stop, we reward the silence, then he starts barking again. Repeat. If we don’t reward the silence he starts barking again.

I can’t give him my attention or a Kong 24/7 to keep him quiet. Now that he has started barking in the crate we have no “last resort” when he won’t settle down. We live in a townhome so I am concerned this will become an issue with the neighbors if it doesn’t let up.

I am open to any and all advice as I am getting desperate. I am at a total loss and feel like a failure. Thanks in advance.

Hello I was curious, I have a 2 year old english lab. I try to play with him lots but with it soon becoming winter season and with where I live getting snow and temperatures as low as -40 celsius I can't bring him outside as often. So I was hoping you guys had suggestions on how to fix this problem?

We have a 5 yo male chonker Chihuahua/pitbull named Jack with the sweetest, goofiest personality. He was kind of lonely and bored so we decided to get him a companion (not the only reason, but long story short). Last week, we adopted Luna, a female dachshund/Chihuahua mix we were told was 1 yo, fully housebroken, good with other dogs, and had an easy-going personality. What we got was a domineering bully who snarls at our dog and competes with him for every toy, food, and scrap of attention she can. She poops in the house immediately after being outside and snaps at people's faces while being affectionate. She also seems younger than 1 yo to me and was only spayed last week.³

She was a rescue, and appears to have been through a little bit of trauma and neglect, but she definitely has a sweet side and does show signs of wanting to improve and get along. She's smart and seems motivated to do better. I guess my question is, can she? The only dog I have raised from a puppy is Jack, and he was a dream. Is this a sign we should look into rehoming her to a home where she can be an only dog?

Can she change? Is this something that can be trained out of her? Is it just an adjustment thing? I mean, they do play and cuddle sometimes. She's been through a lot in just the last month, including just being orphaned, moved to a foster home for 2 weeks, spayed 11 days ago, then moved here a week ago. I have to choose which dog's life to ruin and it's breaking my heart.

I have a 5 month old German shepherd and an older dog. The puppy is constantly biting the older dog on the neck only when they are on a leash. In the yard they are perfectly fine and hang out with no worries but as soon as I take both of them out together it’s like war on the older dog’s neck and leash. I’ve distracted the puppy with rewards I have her calm down before we start a walk/ get leashed. The puppy’s focus is great when we are alone and she rarely takes her focus off of me unless the older one is around. Is there anything else I can do besides just separating them to spare my older dog/ sanity?

My five month old great pyr puppy has started getting some strange behaviors lately. She has started growling a lot more. If I move her off the couch she growls at me or if I try to take her bully stick holder she’ll growl at me. She’s also started growling at our older dog after she eats dinner or after she’s had a bully stick. Does anyone have any advice? I know it seems like resource guarding I’m just not sure how to fix it especially with my older dog.

I have two cats and a 6 month golden retriever puppy. One cat hates him and they tend to avoid one another and co-exist. The other cat, Mouse, rubs up against my puppy, Henry, and is only a bit skittish around him. The issues I’m seeing at home between them is that if Mouse rubs against me or wants affection, Henry will get between us or just snuggle up against me so much Mouse becomes annoyed and walks away. Another thing he’s been doing is walking around the house with her and randomly pawing. I think he’s trying to play with her (?), but Mouse meows to get him to piss off. Is this an ok relationship for them to continue to have? If not, how should I intervene? Thanks.

I have read that dogs can sense when you’re almost home or when ready to go somewhere due to repetitive body language and behaviours you do like doing something at a certain time but can someone explain the following? Half the summer I had been walking my dog almost daily at irregular times and I’d always go into my room while she’d be somewhere else and I’d do my warm up foot exercises before heading out. She’d come running over all excited knowing somehow we were going for a walk. I stopped going out in September due to health issues and after 1.5 months, I decided to take her out today. She was in the living room, I went to my room and prepped. She was at my door in less than five seconds frantically wagging her tail and super excited even though I gave her no signs we were heading out. How does she pick up on this? Does anyone else have pets that seem psychic?